1. Field of the Invention
A method and system for facilitating the optimization of manufacturing workforce while reducing workforce boredom in an assembly plant having multiple assembling tasks and workers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manufacturing plants are often required to perform repetitive tasks in order to mass assemble a product or part. The repetition can lead to boredom in the workforce as workers may find themselves performing the same motions day in and day out. This repetition may cause workers to day dream or become otherwise unfocused which in turn can cause some workers to become unsatisfied with their job.
Such plants are dynamic in operation and require a lot of workforce supervision in order to maintain an efficient productivity level. Accordingly, managers and floor leaders need to spend as much time on the plant floor as possible so as to conduct quality control inspections and maintain productivity. However, quality control and productivity are not the only responsibilities of Team leaders and managers. Team leaders and managers are also required to provide reports regarding various aspects of the workplace for which they are assigned. Additionally, team leaders and managers are also given the responsibility of assigning workers to assembly tasks. These can be a time consuming efforts and takes away from their time on the floor and for other administrative matters.
Methods and systems for facilitating the optimization of workforce and workflow in a manufacturing plant or office are well known and documented. U.S. Publication No. 2002/0065700 to Powell et al. discloses a method for allocating personnel and resources to efficiently complete diverse work assignments. The method begins by receiving work assignments then classifying the work assignment as either a service assignment or a pooled assignment. All work assignments are placed in a respective service assignment or pooled assignment queue. A schedule is then created for each individual work force member according to the assignments within the service assignment queue. The schedules are examined and periods of availability or slack times are identified and available resources are then assigned to the pooled assignment queue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,391 to Fields et al. discloses a system and method for making staff schedules talking into account available resources as well as employee skill level and availability, and job priority. Specifically the staff scheduling data processing system and method schedules staff and management personnel at locations remote from a central location and applies central location policy to those remote locations to ensure optimum staff schedule and regulatory compliance for each site. A schedule is created for a given day from a remote location using the database and the schedule is submitted to various locations where the tasks are to be performed. The schedule takes into account the tasks that are available and the tasks that are needed to be performed and the employees that are available to perform the tasks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,794 to Howie et al. discloses an improved job scheduling method and system for scheduling a variety of jobs. Specifically, Howie et al. teaches a method of scheduling work based upon the estimated time required to complete a specific job and then scheduling jobs in accordance with each job's estimated time requirements. The system takes into account the time sensitivity of the jobs and the preferred path a job should take through a shop so as to schedule the jobs around identified bottleneck areas of the shop. Additionally, the system executes various queries to help further move a job through the shop. The system includes a planning mode where the estimated target date for each work order and operation within the work order fed into a work order tracking system. Jobs are entered along with a sequential list of operations to be performed on each workpiece. The list may be interactively updated by the operator to accommodate scheduling through shop bottlenecks by imposing tighter constraints on the bottleneck operations such as starting the workpiece later or earlier. An operational mode is provided that uses weighted tardiness measures established in the planning mode to support decisions with regards to the movement of the work order through the shop. A time map is generated that displays where the workpiece should be within the shop at any given time from the work order to completion, for each work order part.
However, neither Powell et al., Howie et al., nor Fields et al. disclose a method whereby the attention of a worker is maintained by ensuring the worker receives varied assembly tasks. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method that can save a team leader or manager time while both stimulating workforce personnel intellectually with varied activity to maintain plant productivity and product quality.